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Staying a Healthy Student: Utopian Dream or Achievable Reality?

How Can a Student Stay on Top of Their Health?

For many people, student years are the happiest period of their lives. The first love, the first disappointment, and early life difficulties usually occur at this time. For several years, lectures and tests alternate with parties, walks under moonlight, and amazing adventures. It’s little wonder then that most youngsters care little about a healthy lifestyle. They think that pills and diseases are for old people, which is why for many of them obtaining a degree often results in health problems.

They say that we make our own future. However, we cannot sacrifice our health for a degree. While we’re still young, our mental and physical health depends mainly on our parents. Listening to them talking about smoking being harmful and eating regularly (and preferably at home) making all the difference in the world can be really annoying. Their daily reminders about the importance of doing our morning exercises and dressing for the weather can drive us crazy. Whether we like it or not, our parents give us a foundation upon which we can build our future. Then, it all depends on us. Imagine living in a building which mid-section is built of a poor-quality material. Clearly, such a structure will not last long.

According to the World Health Organization, our health is largely dependent on our lifestyle. The pace of life of young people changes dramatically after they enter a college or university. And some of these changes are not always for the better.

Student life is characterized by irregular meals, unhealthy food, lack of sleep, little physical activity, extended stay in stuffy rooms, bad habits, constant stress, excessive mental workload, and eyestrain. And the list is by far not an exhaustive one. In many cases, the said adverse effects are unavoidable, but is it possible to reduce their impact on students’ health? Let’s look into some of the most severe problems and try and figure out ways of overcoming them.

How to Maintain Mental Health?

Starting from their first day in college, students are bombarded with new information. To avoid academic overload, they may consider using different kinds of academic writing services, such as www.buy-cheapessay.com/. Various studies indicate that students have neurosis and chronic stress by the third year of study. Coupled with chronic sleep deprivation, it negatively affects their academic performance and often results in insularity and aggressiveness.

Unfortunately, psychological counseling is not available at all universities. It is, therefore, recommended that students reduce their mental load by doing other activities. The brain cannot be active for a long time, and it gradually gets tired. While we sleep, walk in the garden or listen to relaxing music, our mind and eyes rest. Not having enough sleep and rest causes the quality of learning and living to significantly deteriorate. You should, therefore, manage your time efficiently and do not let a backlog of assignments accumulate by the end of the semester.

Food

There’s a reason they call gastritis a student disease. By the end of their studies, nearly all students experience stomach pains, and this is only the smallest digestive problem that can develop as a result of malnutrition. Gallstone disease, pancreatitis or gastric ulcer can present them with far more serious challenges. Failure to wash one’s hands before eating a sandwich can result in a severe infection getting into one’s digestive system. If you have no time for water and soap, you can use individual wet wipes or antiseptic hand gel.

Never skip a meal. Remember – the food is fuel not only for our body but also for our brain. Ideally,  there should be no more than 4 hours between meals.

Another vital point is the quality of nutrition. If you have to go without eating for a day, homemade food can remedy the situation.

Physical Activity

Students spend a lot of time sitting down during lectures and seminars. As a result, they suffer from impaired blood circulation, lack of oxygen supply to the brain, and spinal curvature. So, what should they do to avoid them? Try engaging in movement activities in between lectures, and never stay at a desk during a break. Watch your posture at all times.

 

When you work on a laptop or read a lot, try taking short breaks every 40 minutes to give your eyes a rest. Do not forget about the fresh air — you can read in the nearby park. Do a sport. Today, most educational institutions provide their students with an opportunity to work out at gyms and stadiums. If it is too difficult for you to get there, do physical exercises at home.

Bad Habits

We all know that alcohol and tobacco are very harmful to our health. By the end of their studies, 25% of students smoke regularly, although this figure is 2.5 times less in the first year. The situation with alcohol is a little different. Up to 70% of students frequently consume alcoholic drinks. Some of them even use drugs. They do it for different reasons – for relaxation, out of curiosity or simply because it is fashionable.

However, smoking a cigarette or having an alcoholic drink every day can lead to serious addiction and result in a decrease of self-control and excessive emancipation. Remember that unprotected intimacy can cause sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Therefore, you should be wise, responsible and mindful of the consequences.

Some Closing Words

Being active, athletic, and good-looking in your 50s or 60s is what is really in fashion today. And the secret to that is rooted in our student years. Good health is not a utopia – it is really achievable!. All you need to do is pick up some good habits and give up some bad ones.

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Written by Virily Editor